Come Home
by Echante
Summary: Addison and Mark used to be best friends in college, until one day, they slept together and he ran away, now five years later, she's engaged and moving to Seattle... Where Mark lives.
1. O Holy Night

**A/N:** This is in a couple parts:

Wonder is my new hero, 'They Won't Go When I Go' is my new favorite song.

New York part of this story is based only on when I was there three years ago so this might not be the most accurate.

3.I want to go to Columbia so bad!

**4.I created a community because Maddison communities are pretty low in the food chain, I sent out invites to a couple of you to join my staff, and people need to go to the Community section, which is in the top right, and find the one that's just called Maddison (which is probably on the last page) and hit subscribe! We just need a couple of people to subscribe to push it up! Even if you are a part of the staff subscribe! And if you want to be added to the staff then just pm me and I'll send you an invite! Tell your friends ! (If you write a story, put it in your A/N too, Maddison is going to matter goddamnit!)**

5. This story is in two parts, maybe three. This is the first.

XXXXXX

They meet for the first time on Christmas Eve, 1993, entirely by a twist of fate. She'd been walking around Times Square, circling the Christmas tree with a giant cup of Starbuck in tow, breathing clouds of cold into the air; and he'd been sitting passively on the bench to the side, watching shoppers hustle by, running from the frost. It turns out that his bench is the only available seating around the crowded square and she's tired from walking around all day, so she wanders over and asks politely and he politely smiles and tells her he has no problem with sharing. Then he tries to pick her up, because, after a quick look over, he has decided she is beautiful. But instead of the normal eye-roll and subtle encouragement he's used to from girls; she simply buries her head into her hands and sighs, exasperated, "Please don't."

The exhaustion in her voice tells him that she's been burdened by beauty just as much as some are burdened with stupidity and he changes his tactics. "Sorry," he grins at her, "it's an impulse."

And her eyes peak out from behind her hands and she looks so relieved that he doesn't push that he's almost insulted. But he puts it behind him and waits for her to make the next move, if she makes a move at all. When fifteen minutes have gone by without a word from either of them, he decides he can sneak a look over at her again; the sight takes his breath away. She has a mess of curls tumbling from the top of her head, and green-blue eyes that he swears he swam in once, back when he lived nearer to the ocean and when warm climate was a more common occurrence. She's about to stand up and leave, and he can already feel the loss of her, so in desperation he half-yells, "Wait!"

She turns her pretty head and looks at him expectantly and the only question he can come up with is, "What's your name?"

She smile and shakes her head and for the first time he notices that she has tears in her eyes, "My name is Addison." she turns to walk away but then changes her mind and walks back, "By the way," she adds, "I'm in your Biochem class."

And he watches her walk away.

XXXXXX

_You are always on my mind,_

_All I ever do is count the days,_

_Through distance and time, I'll be waiting. _

She's fifteen minutes early to class, and she half listens to the end of the lecture from a class that she took in high school and passed without problems. The other half of her opens the textbook, prepared to preview the lesson for today. She doesn't notice the classroom clearing out, or the man looming over her with a large smirk spread across his face.

"So you are in my Biochem class," he remarks casually, taking the seat next to hers without asking. She looks at him incredulously.

"Uh. Yeah. I wasn't lying."

"Wonder why I didn't notice you before?" he muses.

"Because you're too busy trying to dry hump all the other females in this class. What is it my turn?" She asks without looking up from her textbook, "Do I have to move, or can you get it done while I read?"

"Funny."

She slams her textbook shut and glares up at him, "I was trying to study."

He laughs, "We just got back from Christmas break! What the hell do you have to study for?"

"I was pre-reading the lesson." She pouts.

He ignores this, "Did you have a Merry Christmas?"

"Absolutely wonderful," she mutter, "family, friends, presents," she's already slipping back into her textbook and this amuses him to no end.

"I never pegged you for a nerd."

This brought her back, and she glared at him, "Who says I'm a nerd?"

He gestures to her book and grins, "You."

"I am not a nerd." She protests.

"What's your favorite T.V. show?"

"West Wing." She blurts automatically and then blushes, and then adds, "But FRIENDS is a close second!"

He furrows his eyebrows and says, "Well at least it's not the X-Files or anything like that…"

She blushes.

His eyes widen incredulously, "You watch the X-Files?"

She shrugs, "On occasion."

"Occasion?"

She shrugs, "Yeah." Obviously not willing to elaborate, he takes one look at the almost annoyed look on her face and changes the subject.

They spend the next two hours not listening to the professor.

XXXXXX

"Hey!" He feels someone smack him on the shoulder and he turns around and smiles as he is handed a cup of coffee.

"Bone-dry Cappuccino," she rolls her eyes as she sips her own sugar filled drink, "I don't know how you can drink that stuff."

He shrugs, "I like foam."

She brushes the topic off and changes the subject, "I have to study for the Bio-lab tomorrow, so I don't think I'll be able to go to the party."

He slings an arm around her shoulder and asks with a raised eye-brow, "That's the forth-time you've cancelled on going to a party, and every time at the last minute. Is there something you want to tell me?"

She sighs and stutters and then says, "Fine. I hate parties."

"Why?" he asks.

"Because," she pouts, "Okay fine… I lost my virginity at one, because I was too fucking drunk to know what the hell I was doing, and it hurt like a bitch, and then a couple weeks later, I had what I'm pretty sure was a miscarriage…" she shudders, "a huge blob popped out of my vagina. It was horrifying…"

He looks at her surprised, "You haven't done it since?"

She shakes her head and rests it against his arm, "No. I haven't even gotten drunk since… I mean, I know it's supposed to get better after the first, but I just… I can't."

He nods his understanding, although a troubled look passes over his face, and he kisses her forehead.

XXXXXX

"Naomi?" Addison knocks on her door just in case Sam is over, she breathes a sigh of relief when he isn't and then walks in past her and sits down.

Naomi grabs an extra cup of water and hands it to her and asks, "What's up?"

"So…" she's not sure how to begin so she digs her toes into the carpet and traces 'X' into it over and over again, "Well I need your advice."

"Sure… on what?"

"You know the saying, 'Once between friends…'"

Naomi's eyes widen in horror, "No way Addison, you can't be serious!"

"I just…" she hesitates, "I just… Nai, I think I like him, you know, like _that,_ and it's driving me crazy! And I know he isn't one to commit but one time, friends with benefits, would that be so bad?"

"Yes!"

"Why!" Addison whines.

"Addy, you know why, you could ruin your friendship, and I know he means more to you than most of us do."

She opens her mouth to protest but Naomi shakes her head, "I'm not complaining I have Sam, and Savvy has Weiss; we both know he's your best friend, and that's your right, but if you're willing to risk that all for one night…"

"People do it all the time!"

"No." Naomi said firmly, "They don't."

"Kay, thanks," Addison tells her, still unconvinced, "I'll keep that in mind."

Naomi sighed as Addison walked out of the door because she knew not a word had gotten into her head.

XXXXXX

He hears a knock on the door and wonders who the hell would be coming here in this god-forsaken hour. He groans and mumbles, "I'm coming," and limps over to the door.

"Addison?" He asks, when she pushes past him and sits on his bed.

She puts a finger on his lips and shakes her head, and then slowly, she brings her face to his and kisses him softly. He understands and realizes it is inevitable, but is still scared to death by the meaning of it, what would happen to the two of them?

But it's too late to bother with the details of regret, she's pushed him back onto the bed, and whispered dirty things into his ears, and if he's honest with himself, it's something he's wanted since the day they became friends.

Later he doesn't remember much about the night, the only evidence he has to show it even happened is the red marks that scratch down the edges of his biceps and the bite marks that blurred red around the edges of his chest. When he woke up that morning, and her red hair splayed across his bed, it hit him, like a train plowing over his fragile heart, love made him stumble. He was in-love with his best friend. It scared the hell out of him. So he ran.

XXXXXX

Noami opened the door before Addison could reach it and pulled the other woman into her arms, "Sh," she comforts her, "It'll be okay, we'll be here for you, Addy, you know we will."

"I can't believe he just left me!" She wailed into her arms, "He knew I was in-love with him! He knew!"

"Addy," Naomi stroked her back, "Did you ever tell him that?"

She wiped her eyes and shook her head, "No… but he could tell, everyone could tell."

"Addy, I don't think he knew."

"Well obviously he didn't love me… he sent movers Nai, he's leaving, I haven't heard from him at all, I don't even know where he's going… he's moving to get away from _me_ Nai… am I really that bad in bed?"

Naomi smiles, "Well how should I know?"

Addison smiled just a bit and then hugs her tighter, "I miss him," she pauses and then adds, "Thanks for not saying 'I told you so.'"

"No problem Ads, this is what friends are for."

Addison cried herself to sleep and Naomi pulled a blanket over her shaking figure, hoping to God that she never got her hands on Mark Sloan, because she'd be in jail for sure.


	2. The Stars Are Brightly Shining

A/N: I really have too short of an attention span to be allowed to write any story that lasts longer than 1,000 words, forgive me if it seems this moved a bit quick, but there will officially be three parts (or more) and I won't be updating for another week because I'm going somewhere warm for Christmas! Oh! Join the community people! We're climbing up! We're at number eight! I want at least five more subscribers by the time I come back! Think of it as a Christmas/B-day present to me!

XXXXXX

"Addison!" Derek yelled at her from the bottom of the stairs, "Have you seen my umbrella?"

"No." She yelled back, and then added grumbling, "If we didn't move to Seattle you wouldn't need the fucking umbrella 24/7."

"I heard that! You're going to love it here! And you know that they have the best internship program in the world."

"No they don't, you're exaggerating."

"Richard's here."

Addison smiled at the name of her old professor, "I know, that's a plus."

Derek appeared in the doorway and wrapped his arms around her waist, "We're going to be so happy… You're going to meet my best friend, you'll hate him at first but he'll grow on you," he smiled, "he grows on everyone."

"We'll you grew on me didn't you?"

Derek faked hurt and he looked so pathetic that she laughed and kissed him on the nose, "Oh honey, don't worry," she grinned, "it didn't take _too _much effort."

XXXXXX

Mark Sloan and Preston Burke waited side by side in the lobby. "What's so special about them anyway?" Burke asked, after being dragged by his friend to sit vigil for the married couple.

"He's my childhood best-friend!" Mark exclaimed, excited, "I haven't seen him in ages!"

"So why am I here?" Burke raised an eyebrow.

Mark glanced over at him, a little fear in his eyes, "I haven't seen his wife ever."

"Ah." Burke said, "Afraid she'll be hot and you'll have to hump her?"

"Nothing's ever come between us before…"

"Okay." Burke said shrugging, "Well I'm here for you man."

"Thanks."

The doors slid open and Mark craned his neck to catch a glimpse of the people walking through, and sure enough, his best friend since childhood walked in and the two launched into each other, wrapping their arms together in a tight man-hug.

"Hey man!" Mark grinned, "Where's the missus."

"She's outside, she forgot something in the car or something…" Derek shrugged, "I dunno… It's good to see you man."

Sure enough, Addison brings up the rear, walking in with her face peering into her purse and looking through it, "Derek," she whined, "Have you seen my phone?"

"Honey?" Derek called, Mark had frozen, smile too wide, eyes panicked.

Addison looked up and then stared like a deer caught in the head-lights. Then she turned tail and ran.

XXXXXX

"Hey Add," Derek asked, stroking her back after a long day at work, "Why'd you run away from us today?"

"Huh?" Her eyes widened in the dark, "Oh. I just remembered where my cell was…"

XXXXXX

"I think someone has a crush," Burke informed Mark as he sat his tray down beside him.

"Huh?" Mark asked.

"You've been staring at her the entire time she's been sitting here! I shouldn't have said anything earlier… self-fulfilling prophecy or what not…"

"What?"

"I said that thing about you being worried that she'd be hot…"

"Oh yeah…" Mark mumbled, following Addison with his eyes as she got up and left the room, "excuse me."

Burke gaped at his back in surprise.

XXXXXX

"Can I talk to you?" He grabbed her arm and pulled her into the nearest supply closet.

She frowned, "What do you want?"

"We need to talk."

"No we don't." She pouted, "You broke my heart, you left _me_, I took a chance on you, and you left. Goddamnit Mark, I just forgot you why are you here?"

"You married someone else."

"Oh come on! Like I'm not allowed to move on? You slept with me and then moved away, you treated me like one of your harem of whores!"

"Addison… you weren't like that… I've missed you," he tries to pull her against him, to hug her, anything but she pushes him away and shakes her head.

"You used to call me Addy." She chokes back a sob, and then she walked back into the hallway, and disappears from his sight. He buries his head in his hands and cries.

XXXXXX

She shows up on his doorstep three weeks later and buries her face into his chest, "Seattle ruined us." She tells him, and then she clarifies, "Me and Derek I mean, you and I were already fucked."

He picks her up as she cries and carries her over to the couch, "Do you wanna talk?"

She nods and he settles her down beside him so he's still hugging her with one arm, "I haven't talked to him since the last time we talked… and he doesn't even notice… he has this intern, Meredith Grey? She's infatuated with him, and I think his ego ballooned over the past few weeks. He keeps trying to impress her, and I didn't even notice that until Dr. Torres had a little chat with me about my husband… He's probably going to leave me, and I don't even give a shit… I think I was a trophy wife anyway." She sighs with abandon, "We were just fooling ourselves. I married him because he was perfect…"

Mark fingers the edges of her hair and kisses the tiny wisps that had frayed around her profile, "I left because I was scared of you. I was scared of hurting you, of doing something I'd regret."

"Well," she pouted her lip out, "You hurt me."

He nodded and agreed, "Yeah, and I regretted it too."

So she kisses him, and she tears angrily at the buttons of his shirt while he rips the fabric off of her chest. There's years of absence in their kisses and he feels a burning pain in the corner of his soul. He thinks the walls are perhaps burning down… his defenses have crashed, he's vulnerable, and he really doesn't give a damn. He's holding her now, that's all that matters.


End file.
